Focke Wulf Schnellflugzeug
Encyclopedia
The Focke Wulf Schnellflugzeug was a design for an experimental aircraft.
Professor Henrich Focke
of the Focke-Wulf
company was one of the greatest and most creative pioneers of autogyro
es and helicopter
s of his time. He left Focke-Wulf and formed Focke Achgelis.
After manufacturing (under license) the German
version of the La Cierva
C.19
and C.30 autogyros, he created the Fw 61
, the world’s first practical helicopter, flown by Hanna Reitsch
and gaining worldwide fame in the Deutschland Hall Stadium in the 1930s.
He subsequently manufactured the heavy-lift transport helicopter Fa 223, and designed the Fa 224, Fa 266, Fa 269, Fa 283, Fa 284, and the Fa 336 during World War II
. Only a few of the large Fa 223 Drache ("Dragon") helicopters actually were produced, but even the prototype
set a new helicopter speed record of 182 km/h (113 mph) and climb record of 8.8 m/s (1,732 ft/min) in 1940. Subsequent war models were primarily used as mountain troop transport, rescue, and crashed aircraft
recovery. The helicopter had provision for a nose-mounted machine gun
, and could carry one or two bomb
s, but the Drache was never used for combat.
Among autogyros Focke built the Fa 225 using the fuselage
of a DFS 230
glide
r and a rotor of a Fa 223. It was an experimental machine but it worked. Focke also was the originator of the Fa 330 kite with rotor, capable of being deployed by a submarine
at a moments notice and then used as a towed spotter. It was stored in a watertight container on the deck of the U-boat
and used with great success during the war. A powered version of the kite would have been the Fa 336 which was in the design phase when the war ended and built in France
postwar for testing.
As soon as he had the relevant data for the new German jet engine
s, Focke started design work on the Focke-Wulf Schnellflugzeug ("Fast Aircraft") which was nicknamed the Rochen (an aquatic ray-skate
).
In 1939, he patented the idea of a circular aircraft with a large aerofoil section and an open center that acted as a huge propeller duct for twin counter-rotating propellers driven by a projected Focke-Wulf designed turbojet engine via an axis and gearbox. Focke-Wulf certainly had the ability to design and build such an engine independently from Heinkel
and Messerschmitt
. In 1942 they had converted a Fw 190 from a piston-engine aircraft into a jet aircraft by removing the BMW 801
engine and installing a 600 kgf
(5.9 kN) thrust Fw T-1 centrifugal jet in the nose. The jet comprised a two-stage radial compressor, single-stage turbine and an annular combustion chamber. The exhaust passed through an annular outlet running around the circumference of the fuselage.
But further designs for Focke-Wulf jet engines were abandoned due to the great demand for the conventional version of the Fw 190 which ultimately produced 20,000 of these fighters by wars end.
The landing gear was very simple, consisting of the two main gear legs on either side of the central propellers and a small tailwheel. A single fin
and rudder
would be provided to help with lateral stability at higher speeds. The lone pilot would sit in a cockpit
nacelle that protruded from the front of the circular aerofoil section fuselage.
model was built in Bremen to prove the design. Focke filed for a new patent in September 1957.
Professor Henrich Focke
Henrich Focke
Henrich Focke was a German aviation pioneer from Bremen. He was a co-founder of the Focke-Wulf company.-Early life:...
of the Focke-Wulf
Focke-Wulf
Focke-Wulf Flugzeugbau AG was a German manufacturer of civil and military aircraft before and during World War II. Many of the company's successful fighter aircraft designs were slight modifications of the Focke-Wulf Fw 190.-History:...
company was one of the greatest and most creative pioneers of autogyro
Autogyro
An autogyro , also known as gyroplane, gyrocopter, or rotaplane, is a type of rotorcraft which uses an unpowered rotor in autorotation to develop lift, and an engine-powered propeller, similar to that of a fixed-wing aircraft, to provide thrust...
es and helicopter
Helicopter
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by one or more engine-driven rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forwards, backwards, and laterally...
s of his time. He left Focke-Wulf and formed Focke Achgelis.
After manufacturing (under license) the German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
version of the La Cierva
La Cierva
La Cierva is a municipality in Cuenca, Castile-La Mancha, Spain. It has a population of 52....
C.19
Cierva C.19
The Cierva C.19 was an autogyro designed by Spanish engineer Juan de la Cierva in England in 1929 and built by Avro which designated it their Type 620...
and C.30 autogyros, he created the Fw 61
Focke-Wulf Fw 61
|-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Coates, Steve and Jean-Christophe Carbonel. Helicopters of the Third Reich. Crowborough, UK: Classic Publications Ltd., 2002. ISBN 1-903223-24-5....
, the world’s first practical helicopter, flown by Hanna Reitsch
Hanna Reitsch
Hanna Reitsch was a German aviator and the only woman awarded the Iron Cross First Class and the Luftwaffe Combined Pilots-Observation Badge in Gold with Diamonds during World War II...
and gaining worldwide fame in the Deutschland Hall Stadium in the 1930s.
He subsequently manufactured the heavy-lift transport helicopter Fa 223, and designed the Fa 224, Fa 266, Fa 269, Fa 283, Fa 284, and the Fa 336 during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Only a few of the large Fa 223 Drache ("Dragon") helicopters actually were produced, but even the prototype
Prototype
A prototype is an early sample or model built to test a concept or process or to act as a thing to be replicated or learned from.The word prototype derives from the Greek πρωτότυπον , "primitive form", neutral of πρωτότυπος , "original, primitive", from πρῶτος , "first" and τύπος ,...
set a new helicopter speed record of 182 km/h (113 mph) and climb record of 8.8 m/s (1,732 ft/min) in 1940. Subsequent war models were primarily used as mountain troop transport, rescue, and crashed aircraft
Aircraft
An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air, or, in general, the atmosphere of a planet. An aircraft counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines.Although...
recovery. The helicopter had provision for a nose-mounted machine gun
Machine gun
A machine gun is a fully automatic mounted or portable firearm, usually designed to fire rounds in quick succession from an ammunition belt or large-capacity magazine, typically at a rate of several hundred rounds per minute....
, and could carry one or two bomb
Bomb
A bomb is any of a range of explosive weapons that only rely on the exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy...
s, but the Drache was never used for combat.
Among autogyros Focke built the Fa 225 using the fuselage
Fuselage
The fuselage is an aircraft's main body section that holds crew and passengers or cargo. In single-engine aircraft it will usually contain an engine, although in some amphibious aircraft the single engine is mounted on a pylon attached to the fuselage which in turn is used as a floating hull...
of a DFS 230
DFS 230
|-See also:-External links:* http://www.warbirdsresourcegroup.org/LRG/dfs230.html* http://www.luftarchiv.de/flugzeuge/dfs/dfs230.htm...
glide
Military glider
Military gliders have been used by the military of various countries for carrying troops and heavy equipment to a combat zone, mainly during the Second World War. These engineless aircraft were towed into the air and most of the way to their target by military transport planes, e.g...
r and a rotor of a Fa 223. It was an experimental machine but it worked. Focke also was the originator of the Fa 330 kite with rotor, capable of being deployed by a submarine
Submarine
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...
at a moments notice and then used as a towed spotter. It was stored in a watertight container on the deck of the U-boat
U-boat
U-boat is the anglicized version of the German word U-Boot , itself an abbreviation of Unterseeboot , and refers to military submarines operated by Germany, particularly in World War I and World War II...
and used with great success during the war. A powered version of the kite would have been the Fa 336 which was in the design phase when the war ended and built in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
postwar for testing.
Schnellflugzeug origin and patent
But perhaps Focke's greatest achievement was the development of the turbo shaft propulsion system currently utilized by the majority of all the world's helicopters.As soon as he had the relevant data for the new German jet engine
Jet engine
A jet engine is a reaction engine that discharges a fast moving jet to generate thrust by jet propulsion and in accordance with Newton's laws of motion. This broad definition of jet engines includes turbojets, turbofans, rockets, ramjets, pulse jets...
s, Focke started design work on the Focke-Wulf Schnellflugzeug ("Fast Aircraft") which was nicknamed the Rochen (an aquatic ray-skate
Skate
Skates are cartilaginous fish belonging to the family Rajidae in the superorder Batoidea of rays. There are more than 200 described species in 27 genera. There are two subfamilies, Rajinae and Arhynchobatinae ....
).
In 1939, he patented the idea of a circular aircraft with a large aerofoil section and an open center that acted as a huge propeller duct for twin counter-rotating propellers driven by a projected Focke-Wulf designed turbojet engine via an axis and gearbox. Focke-Wulf certainly had the ability to design and build such an engine independently from Heinkel
Heinkel
Heinkel Flugzeugwerke was a German aircraft manufacturing company founded by and named after Ernst Heinkel. It is noted for producing bomber aircraft for the Luftwaffe in World War II and for important contributions to high-speed flight.-History:...
and Messerschmitt
Messerschmitt
Messerschmitt AG was a famous German aircraft manufacturing corporation named for its chief designer, Willy Messerschmitt, and known primarily for its World War II fighter aircraft, notably the Bf 109 and Me 262...
. In 1942 they had converted a Fw 190 from a piston-engine aircraft into a jet aircraft by removing the BMW 801
BMW 801
The BMW 801 was a powerful German air-cooled radial aircraft engine built by BMW and used in a number of German military aircraft of World War II. The engine's cylinders were in two rows of seven cylinders each, the bore and stroke were both 156 mm , giving a total capacity of 41.8 litres...
engine and installing a 600 kgf
KGF
KGF may refer to:*Keratinocyte Growth Factor*King George's Fields A UK set of 471 memorial playing fields and recreation grounds*Kolar Gold Fields*The IATA code for Sary-Arka Airport, Karaganda, Kazakhstan...
(5.9 kN) thrust Fw T-1 centrifugal jet in the nose. The jet comprised a two-stage radial compressor, single-stage turbine and an annular combustion chamber. The exhaust passed through an annular outlet running around the circumference of the fuselage.
But further designs for Focke-Wulf jet engines were abandoned due to the great demand for the conventional version of the Fw 190 which ultimately produced 20,000 of these fighters by wars end.
Intended operation
The Fw-Rochen would have achieved forward flight by vectoring the downwash from the propellers rearward through a series of louvers below them. The louvers themselves could also be completely closed for gliding flight in the event of engine failure. The exhaust nozzle forked in two at the end of the turbojet engine and ended in two auxiliary combustion chambers located on the trailing edges of the circular wing. When fuel was added, the auxiliary combustion chambers acted as primitive afterburners providing horizontal flight. The control at low speed was achieved by varying the power to each auxiliary chamber through the two small nozzles.The landing gear was very simple, consisting of the two main gear legs on either side of the central propellers and a small tailwheel. A single fin
Vertical stabilizer
The vertical stabilizers, vertical stabilisers, or fins, of aircraft, missiles or bombs are typically found on the aft end of the fuselage or body, and are intended to reduce aerodynamic side slip. It is analogical to a skeg on boats and ships.On aircraft, vertical stabilizers generally point upwards...
and rudder
Rudder
A rudder is a device used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, aircraft or other conveyance that moves through a medium . On an aircraft the rudder is used primarily to counter adverse yaw and p-factor and is not the primary control used to turn the airplane...
would be provided to help with lateral stability at higher speeds. The lone pilot would sit in a cockpit
Cockpit
A cockpit or flight deck is the area, usually near the front of an aircraft, from which a pilot controls the aircraft. Most modern cockpits are enclosed, except on some small aircraft, and cockpits on large airliners are also physically separated from the cabin...
nacelle that protruded from the front of the circular aerofoil section fuselage.
Postwar evaluation of design
Although very advanced for the time, the Fw-Rochen was never built; however, in the late 1950s a large wooden 1/10 scale wind tunnelWind tunnel
A wind tunnel is a research tool used in aerodynamic research to study the effects of air moving past solid objects.-Theory of operation:Wind tunnels were first proposed as a means of studying vehicles in free flight...
model was built in Bremen to prove the design. Focke filed for a new patent in September 1957.